Dean Answers Questions About Internet Dating Scams

Dean answers:

Ooooh let’s see.

My dad got scammed out of thousands of dollars from a “Polish woman” on an online dating site.

I kinda…snooped in his e-mail, so I know exactly what scamming conversations are like.

The first thing I noticed is that she “fell in love” really quickly. Within like two weeks she was saying that she loved him. Then, she said that she wanted to go to the US but she was having visa problems and whatnot. If my dad said he didn’t have the money, she got really upset and offended. THEN after my dad sent her all the necessary money to come here, this woman says that her mother got in a car accident and she needed to use the money for that. She also used lots of abbreviations and broken up English. Another thing that surprised me was that she called her mom “mum” but that’s not Polish…OH, one other thing!! They won’t want to continue e-mailing on the dating site itself. They’ll ask for your e-mail address from the very get-go.

Just be careful, and trust your judgement. :)

Oh, and here are some other tips: http://www.pricelesspartner.com/scammers.php

Dean answers:

Read this article, it is about a dating scam epidemic concerning Ghana

It sounds like an email you should ignore.

Dean answers:

I have a story, personal. A russian woman starting to write to me off of one of those sights. Im 57 and she was 27. I figured it would be fun but not even approaching serious. Within 2 weeks she was proclaiming her love for me, wanted to marry me, and could not live her life without me. Of course I immediately became suspicious. Suddenly one day she writes that she had discovered that she had relatives here in the USA that she didnt know about that were going to give her money so she could supposedly come visit me here. The catch was that she wanted the money sent to my bank account and then transfer it to her. I didnt know her last name so I played along like I was excited about the prospect. So she tells me her last name and date of birth. Aha, I google her name and it immediately referred me to a web site that lists the names of Russian women who have scammed vulnerable American men. Guess what, her name was on the list. I knew something was up from the get go because of the age difference. Why in the world would a very attractive 27yr old Russian woman want with a 57 yr old man? I guess some of the old farts fall for this crap.

Dean answers:

I would say so, if you want to make sure, there is a comprehensive database that will let you know for sure.

Http://www.datingnmore.com/fraud/scam_database.htm

Also, the minute any person asks you for money (which they “need” in order to travel to visit you, its a dead give away. These punks have claimed to have illnesses, needed surgery, or been trying to escape from an abusive employer or ex-lover. By the way, chances are that you are talking to a 400 lb. Black man in your chat-room or dating discussion board. But check out that site anyway. Unfortunately, I have had friends and co-workers who have been fleeced by these sorts of internet scams and have chosen to help others avoid such trouble.

The people responsible for the crap will bleed people of their money and if they travel to meet them, they will kidnap them (or attempt to) and if successful, hold you for ransom until your family runs out of money. In some extreme cases, people have been murdered after their family’s funds are exhausted.

Avoid at all costs buddy.

Dean answers:

I have never been through an internet dating scam.

I will say, that the man that I fell in love with over the internet, even though I never knew until just recently was married.